DUBAI: 5 seafarers have been rescued after a cargo ship was attacked and sunk off rebel-held Yemen, maritime screens mentioned on Wednesday (Jul 9), as a search continues for the remaining crew.
The Eternity C, a Liberian-flagged bulk provider, was badly broken within the lethal assault within the Pink Sea that began on Monday and continued into Tuesday.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels haven’t claimed duty for the incident, which comes after they boarded and sank one other cargo ship on Sunday.
The assaults mark the primary wave of Houthi-linked ship strikes since final month’s 12-day warfare between their essential backer, Iran, and Israel.
“Search and rescue operations commenced in a single day,” mentioned the British navy’s United Kingdom Maritime Commerce Operations.
“5 crew members have been rescued and searches proceed for these remaining,” it added.
On Tuesday, the European Union pressure patrolling the Pink Sea advised AFP that three individuals had been killed and at the least two injured – together with a Russian electrician who misplaced a leg – within the assault on the Eternity C.
Twenty-two individuals had been aboard the Greek-operated vessel, all however one from the Philippines, in accordance with Filipino officers.
The US embassy in Yemen has accused the Houthis of staging the assault, with UK-based safety agency Ambrey additionally saying the group was more likely to blame.
The Houthis have attacked ships within the important commerce route because the begin of the Gaza warfare, claiming solidarity with the Palestinian trigger.
However Sunday’s assault on the Magic Seas was their first since late final yr, following a Gaza ceasefire and a heavy US bombing marketing campaign focusing on Houthi areas.
The rebels launched a propaganda video displaying masked, armed males storming the Magic Seas and simultaneous explosions that scuttled the majority provider.
Houthi assaults have prompted many freight firms to detour round southern Africa to keep away from the Pink Sea, which usually carries about 12 per cent of world commerce.
The US bombing marketing campaign, geared toward stamping out the assaults, ended with a ceasefire in early Could. Nonetheless, the rebels advised AFP they might proceed to focus on “Israeli ships”.
On Monday, they mentioned they hit the Magic Seas as a result of the corporate that owns it had finished enterprise with Israel and used its ports.
In an announcement on Tuesday, the US embassy in Yemen blamed the Houthis for the Eternity C assault, calling it “essentially the most violent” but and accusing them “undermining freedom of navigation within the Pink Sea”.
In the meantime Israel, stung by common Houthi missile assaults, has carried out a number of strikes on Yemen, together with a wave of air raids on Sunday.
